Monday, December 26, 2011

Santa's Village: Part 8 - Miscellaneous Images, Souvenirs, and Links

It's time for the final part to my Santa's Village series. Today we will be looking at some miscellaneous images from the park. First up, we have "The North Pole." Guests to Santa's Village could see, touch, lick and be photographed next to this "North Pole" that happened to be made up of real ice. I wonder if this thing was turned on 24 hours a day or if once the park closed, the plug was pulled and it was allowed to defrost? This was located just inside the entrance to the park. Santa's house can be seen in the background.

Here's a better view of Santa's house. We actually saw this building in yesterday's post. This view of it shows Rainbow Man on the far left (rockin' his rainbow bell bottoms) and the Lollipop Lady, as well as some elves and possibly Cinderella or Alice. I would say that she's Alice because of the blue dress and white pinafore, but we saw her riding on Cinderella's Pumpkin Coach a couple days ago, so who knows....they may have intended for her to be Cinderella.

Not only did Santa have a home at Santa's Village, but the Easter Bunny did as well. Or at least, he had a nursery there. I'm pretty sure he lived there too because we have seen him in plenty of Santa's Village pics....and where else would the Easter Bunny live anyway?

Here's the Mechanical Toy Factory, which is listed on the map as just "Toy Shop".....not to be confused with the Mill Wheel House/Toy Shop. I do get the names of those two locations confused. They seem to have changed names over the years. They were definitely two separate buildings. One had a waterwheel on the front of it and the other had this mechanical gear or cog on the facade.

This postcard is just labled, "Gift Shop."

There is a "Gift Shop" listed on the map, but I'm not sure if this "Pixie Flower Stand" was part of the Gift Shop or if it was located in one of the other shops on the property.

This was the Coaster Bobsled Ride. I wonder what happened to this little ride?

Visitors to Santa's Village could also ride Santa's Candy Cane Sleigh Ride.

The Candy Cane Sleighs operated year round whether there was snow on the ground or not. They were pulled by only four "not-so-tiny" reindeer.

Once again, here is that Santa's Village map from the late seventies/early eighties. I've circled the attractions and buildings that were mentioned above. It looks like over the past week, we have taken a close-up look at everything listed on the map except for the "Pebble Candy Mine", which I have yet to find vintage pics of, and the "Old 99 Train." Who knew that Santa's Village had two trains?

We also did not take a look at the "Barn", the "Burro Ride" or the "Animal Pen", but we certainly did see plenty of animals pictured in the vintage postcards! And speaking of Burros, here's a postcard showing "Bim, The Playful Burro." Cute!

Below, are some miscellaneous items I found for sale on eBay. The first is a group of five black and white photos from 1957. One of the pics shows a goat in a sleigh with a kid (no pun intended). Another pic shows a burro (Bim?) coming right up to some guests and trying to drink out of their cups. I thought the animals were shown out in the open on the postcards because those were publicity shots, but were some of the animals just running around loose in the park?

Vintage pics of the park often show kids wearing these buttons. This one is available on eBay for a Buy It Now price of $18.00. I wonder if these were given out or if they had to be purchased?

This S.V. magnet has a Buy It Now price of $22.00.

And here's a really interesting item. It's a record album of Christmas songs sung by the students of the Claremont High School Vocal Music Department. There doesn't appear to be a date on it, but based on the student's clothing in the cover photo, it looks like it was probably taken in the fifties or sixties. And that building in the background is Santa's Toy Shop. It originally had a Buy It Now price of $99.99, but it can now be yours for the reduced price of $49.99. Aren't these prices kind of steep? Maybe that's why the items have been listed for over a week now and have not been snapped up.

Here are some links for more information on Santa's Village:

Santa's Village History - for a fascinating history of the men behind Skyforest's Santa's Village and the world's first "theme park chain" (AND the first suspended monorail in the United States.)

The Flower Fields in Carlsbad, California - for information about the new location of Santa's Village's Crooked Treehouse, the Guard Shack, the playhouse version of Santa's House and many of the park's concrete mushrooms. (The Flower Fields are currently closed and will be open to the public from March 1st thru May 13th of 2012.)

JG, Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed this series! I know you had a question about that Easter Bunny's House sign. It wasn't until Major Pepperidge posted his pic a couple days ago that I learned exactly where the egg-shaped structure was located. I wonder if they just happened to leave it off the map or if that structure had actually been removed from the park by then?

Thanks, Dan! But where would I stay? Those old buildings creep me out! And as blogger, "A Snow White Sanctum" pointed out....Rainbow Man and Lollipop Lady are probably hovering about....YIKES! Or should I say, ZOINKS!

Wow, that was a great series! The vintage photos (postcards and such) were great, and the contemporary views are fascinating in a sort of archaeological way. I can't believe I've never seen one of those "Santa's Village" pinbacks before (I have several from "The North Pole" in New Hampshire). $17 sounds a bit steep considering, but I really want one!!

Gotta mention the park in Dundee Illinois that I lived near. Who could forget those giant mushrooms and riding in the giant ornaments on the christmas tree ride. All of our imported glass ornaments came from there. Mother had a beautiful collection. Thank you for blogging this.